90.5 x 122cm

Acrylic and Oil on Polycotton Canvas

Framed in Blonde Eucalyptus

"Do you ever wonder why they call it that? El Niño? It starts with something so small, so insignificant. An anchovy. See, the anchovy, it prospers most in temperate waters. So, when equatorial trade winds—when they brought cold water west-ward—they slowly boiled under the beating sun. And by the time it reached Chimbote, Perú—which is the anchovy capital of the world—the warming waters were completely uninhabitable for the anchovy.

“Oh no, it gets worse! The economy suffered. I mean, everything suffered, not just the fish. The aquatic seabirds that fed on the anchovies, from the gannets, to the cormorants, the pelicans, they all died. And so did the animals that fed on them. And because this phenomenon would, without fail, coincide with the celebration of the birth of Christ they called it: El Niño de Navidad. The Christmas Boy.

Oh c’mon! You gotta hand it to the Peruvians. I mean, something so destructive in such harmless packaging! El Niño de Navidad. I mean, this thing that seemed so insignificant. The winds that make the water too hot for the tiny little fish to live. But, no. It’s a harbinger of something that throws everything out of whack. I mean droughts, floods, storms — huge global events! But there’s nothing you can do to stop the wind from blowing.

So, what can you do when you see all these little anchovies belly up in the water? You just keep on moving. And you brace yourself for the shit storm." Yanko Flores, 2019

Note: Systems flip outcomes across the pacific…